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The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT)

The Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) is the largest single optical telescope in the southern hemisphere and among the largest in the world. It has a hexagonal primary mirror array 11 metres across, comprising 91 individual 1.2m hexagonal mirrors. SALT has a redesigned optical system resulting in a larger field of view and effective collecting area.

What is the SKA?

The SKA will be a revolutionary radio telescope made of thousands of receivers linked together across an area the size of a continent. The total collecting area of all the SKA receivers combined will be approximately one square kilometre, making the SKA the largest and most sensitive radio telescope ever built.

Without E=MC2 GPS Would Malfunction

The satellite navigation in your car or on your phone relies on a series of geostationary satellites to pinpoint your location, exchanging data using radio waves. Because of the theory of relativity, the speed at which the satellites’ onboard clocks tick is around 38,000 nanoseconds faster than clocks on the ground. Every time data is sent to the receiving device, a calculation must be applied to correct the timings to within the required 20-30 nanosecond accuracy.

Plasma Physics

What are the states of matter? Besides liquid, solid and gas, there is a fourth, less commonly understood state: plasma. Plasmas are created when the electrons surrounding an atom are stripped off by a strong external magnetic field or extreme temperatures. These extreme conditions exist inside the Sun as well as in many other astrophysical situations. Astronomers must study complex computer simulations to understand how these structures evolve and behave.

Space Weather

Weather isn’t just an earthly phenomenon. The solar wind created by the changing surface and magnetosphere of the Sun can wreak havoc on the electronics of satellites and electrical systems on Earth. It is responsible for the aurorae as well! Scientists at facilities like the SANSA station in Hermanus use ground and space based observatories to help predict the state of the space weather and mitigate their detrimental effects.

Honours Programme

The Honours Programme, which started in February 2003, is hosted at the University of Cape Town. Lectures will be given by staff in the NASSP consortium and will cover most areas of modern astronomy, astrophysics and cosmology. In addition to lecture courses, students will be expected to take a substantial practical component which will involve several field trips to some of southern Africa's space science research facilities. These include the South African Astronomical Observatory site at Sutherland where SALT, the Southern African Large Telescope (the largest optical telescope in the southern hemisphere) is located, the radio telescope facility at Hartebeesthoek and the High Energy Stereoscopic System (HESS).

This unique new opportunity in Southern Africa aims at producing highly skilled people who will be in demand in fields ranging from aerospace to financial services to telecommunications - all areas where astronomers trained overseas have been successful. Other graduates will join the growing community of African researchers who will use the continent's new, "giant eyes" to explore the Universe - our environment on the grandest possible scale.

Programme Outline

Students are required to take a total of 12 units in order to acquire a breadth of knowledge as well as depth. Each unit corresponds to about 24 lectures and 6 tutorials. The honours programme is made up of three parts: A theory component, a component covering observational and research techniques, and a project/seminar component. These are detailed below:

A component covering observational and research techniques in:

Accommodation for NASSP students has been arranged in close proximity to the university. Special social events will be organised throughout the year to provide an opportunity for students to get better acquainted with the astrophysics community.

Entrance Requirements

Applicants should have, or expect to obtain a good BSc degree in Physics, Mathematics, Astronomy or Engineering.

Administration

The director of the programme is Dr. Kurt van Heyden. Administrative problems specific to the programme should be addressed to Mr Olwethu Kwayiba (Department of Astronomy, Room 5.38 R.W James Building). Questions regarding individual courses should be addressed to the lecturer concern.

Fees and financial support

Students accepted onto the programme will be considered for NASSP-DST-NRF grants.

The following rules apply for the NASSP-DST-NRF scholarships:

The duration for support is 1 year.

The value of the scholarship is a basic stipend of R76 500 (in 2017) plus tuition fees and one return trip home. This bursary is paid to the student in 4 instalments. We strive to make payments at the begining of each term. Payment of the second semester will be subject to satisfactory performance (i.e 50% overall performance) in the first semester.

If the student withdraws from the degree at any time, he/she will have to refund NASSP a portion of the bursary. This will be calculated as a fraction of the bursary, equivalent to the number of months remaining until the end of the semester from the time of withdrawal. If the student fails to attend the academic programme for a period of longer than a month without good reason, NASSP reserves the right to terminate the bursary, and deem the student to have withdrawn.